Effect of the extract ofCasearia corymbosaon the germination of Passiflora edulis var.edulis

Abstract

Based on etnobotanical knowledge of some rural communities from central Colombia, the biological activity of the leaf extract of Casearia corymbosa was evaluated on the germination of Passiflora edulis var. edulis seeds. Leaf extract was obtained by traditional water extraction and it was diluted several times to prepare experimental treatments, which were compared with control treatments (GA3 and distilled water) in a germination test. Also, a tetrazolium test was conducted at the beginning of essay to determine seed viability.In vitro assay was made in a completely random design, with 17 treatments and 1700 seeds. The germination percentage (G%) was measured every 10 days during 70 days and the results were statistically analyzed with program R (2.8.1.). Highly significant differences between treatments were found by ANAVA, and LSD test determined not differences between 2 best treatments, but they resulted different from the rest of treatments. Best germination was obtained in (G3) and (S2) treatments, with 94% and 81% respectively. The results support the research hypothesis, which propused the presence of gibberellins in the leaf extract of C. corymbosa, which can be as effective as GA3 in germination.